I always like things clean, organized, and in good working condition - it's a standard I try to impress upon everyone who works with me at my farm, especially when it comes to our valuable tools.
Sharp pruning tools not only make chores easier to complete, but they also make cleaner cuts, which allow plants to heal faster. Making clean cuts also exposes them to less damage from diseases, insects, fungi, and weather extremes. My gardeners and outdoor grounds crew use their tools all year long, so it is important to keep them well maintained. Each member cleans, sharpens, and conditions their pruners, snips, and shears regularly. The process only takes a few minutes, and it keeps these gardening implements in proper working order.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
Pruners are among the most essential tools here at my Bedford, New York farm. Pruners, or secateurs, are used for grooming all the garden specimens. Their primary purpose is to remove dead, diseased, or damaged stems, and branches from plants and bushes.
Here, Phurba uses Japanese hedge shears to groom the boxwood shrubs. I prefer hand held tools – it’s a slower process, but they make cleaner, neater, more detailed cuts compared to powered versions.
And here is Pasang pruning and grooming the European beech trees, Fagus sylvatica, that line both the east and west sides of the South Paddock as well as the west side of what I call the Southeast Paddock.
In order to do the jobs best, it is important to keep all our shears and various snips as sharp as can be. Every few days my gardeners take stock of their cutting tools and clean and sharpen whatever is needed. Here, Brian shows the tools before they are cleaned and sharpened.
We all like to use Okatsune secateurs. Bypass garden pruners such as these make nice, clean cuts using two curved blades that bypass each other in the same manner as a pair of scissors. One blade is sharpened on the outside edge and slips by a thicker unsharpened blade. Pruners can cut branches and twigs up to ¾ of an inch thick.
For this task, Brian uses a coarse cleaning block and a whetstone. Both are soaked in water for about 10-minutes before using. This makes both blocks work more efficiently. A whetstone will help keep the pores of the stone clean, dissipate frictional heat, and ensures smooth sharpening.
This larger block is also soaking in tepid water. This piece is helpful for longer blades.
Brian uses the cleaning block to remove any dirt, sap, etc.. This cleaning block has a slightly rough texture for removing grime from the blades. Cleaning blocks are great for removing rust and other debris. They’re made of a semi flexible rubber compound with abrasive grits for scouring. Brian goes over every part of both blades. One can also use a medium grit sandpaper.
It is important to also get all the dirt off the metal parts – anything left on tools can attract and hold moisture and cause rust.
Brian closes the pruners and goes over the blades again.
Brian stops to wipe the blades dry every so often. This allows him to inspect the cleaning he has done and to see how much more is needed.
Next, Brian uses the whetstone to sharpen the blade. Brian holds the pruners firmly and places an even and gentle pressure drawing the stone along the blade from hilt to tip.
Here’s another view. Most secateurs are single bevelled – Brian sharpens the outside, and then smooths off the inside, going slightly over the edge.
These blades are now very sharp. To test, Brian carefully rubs the blade against his nail. If it bites in, it is sharp. One can also use the side of a pen or pencil.
Next, Brian lightly lubricates all the clean, sharpened metal parts. Oil will help the pruners perform more smoothly. One can use multi-purpose oil from the hardware store. Brian uses oil from the seeds of Camellia oleifera. This oil is the traditional Japanese choice for protecting tools from rust. This oil leaves a deep, non-oily, and odorless finish. It is available online or at various gardening shops.
Brian does the same process for this pair – first, he uses the cleaning block… My greenhouse cat, Blackie, is always curious and loves to sit close and watch.
… then the whetstone…
Brian holds the whetstone at an angle to sharpen the edges and maintain the bevel. The bevel is what makes a tool sharp. The blades are factory ground to a precise angle that’s just right for each tool.
For these snips, Brian uses the larger block, which can cover more blade surface with less strokes.
And he also uses it for the long hedge shears.
This block is one piece, with the darker cleaning section on one side and the sharpening whetstone on the other. Cleaning and sharpening supplies are available at many garden shops and online.
Once again, Brian tests the sharpness of the blade against his nail.
And then oils the entire piece. Here, he also oils the joint where the two sides meet. After oiling, it is a good idea to open and close the pruners to hear how the parts move together – they should work smoothly, quietly, and evenly.
All the tools are now ready to head back out to the gardens. It is crucial to keep these garden tools sharp at all times. Sharp pruners for working in the gardens… it’s a very safe, efficient, “good thing.”
Here at my Bedford, New York farm, patches of snow and ice cover the ground, but inside my greenhouse there's a flurry of spring activity. This time every year, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, starts seeding our vegetables in preparation for the coming growing season. One of the first vegetables we start are the onions.
Starting onions from seed isn’t difficult. They can be planted closely together in seed starting trays, and because they are shallow-rooted, they can be pulled apart easily when ready for transplanting outdoors. Many of our seed trays, supplies, and seeds are from Johnny’s Selected Seeds - we've been using Johnny's for years. Once planted, the onion seeds remain in the greenhouse until they’re moved to my vegetable garden. And by mid-summer, we will have lots and lots of beautiful, flavorful, fat bulbs to harvest.
Enjoy these photos.
Remember all the onions we harvested last year? Such a bounty of gorgeous fresh onions – it’s one of our favorite crops to pick. The onion, Allium cepa, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium.
Onions require 90 to 100 days to mature from seed, which is around four months. We start seeding our vegetables shortly after the New Year and then in spring we transplant them into the garden.
Seed starting trays come in all different sizes and depths. We use trays with shallow compartments for planting onion seeds. These are 20-row seed flats from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. They keep varieties separate and make the removal of seedlings easy for transplanting to larger celled trays or pots later.
Because I use a lot of onions for cooking and for sharing with my family, we plant many trays of onion seeds. Ryan fills the seed starting tray with mix and pats it down lightly into each row.
It’s best to use a pre-made seed starting mix that contains the proper amounts of vermiculite, perlite and peat moss. Seed starting mixes are available at garden supply stores.
The soil should be level with the top of the tray. Ryan fills several trays first and works in a production line process.
Next, Ryan uses a wooden marker to make quarter-inch deep furrows in each row.
We keep all our seed packets in plastic envelopes, and plastic bins – all are labeled and filed for easy reference. Mason jars with tight-fitting lids, or glass canisters with gasket-type lids also work. Humidity and warmth shorten a seed’s shelf life, so we store the organized seed packets in a greenhouse refrigerator. Then, when it is time to seed our trays, we know they are well organized and in good condition. Here are many of our seeds for onions, shallots, and leeks. We get our seeds from our favorite companies and wherever I find them during my travels. Ryan labels the seed markers and keeps them together with the matching packets.
On one side of the marker he writes the vegetable variety so we can keep track of what grows well and what doesn’t.
On the other side, Ryan indicates what color this particular onion variety is – R for red, W for white, and Y for yellow.
Onion seeds are very small, so be sure to take time dropping them into the tray cells. It’s also a good idea to keep a record of when seeds are sown, when they germinate, and when they are transplanted. These observations will help organize a schedule for the following year. This is a hand seed sower from Johnny’s Selected Seeds – it is one option to help drop the seeds into the trays. This tool allows one to control the flow of seeds through five different size outlets. The funnel-shaped spout makes it easy to return unused seeds to packet.
After pouring a generous amount of seeds into the center dish, Ryan screws the plastic top back onto the hand seed sower and adjusts the amount of seeds that will be released at one time.
And then he begins to drop onion seeds evenly into each compartment.
Ryan places a marker into one of the cells, so it is clear what variety is growing in what tray.
It is good to start larger onions from seed, so they can be harvested the same year. Smaller onions can be planted directly into the ground. Barolo onions are long-day onions with globe-shaped, dark purple-red bulbs.
Once the seeds are dropped, Ryan adds an additional light layer of soil mix, so the seeds are completely covered.
Then he tamps down lightly to make sure there is good contact with the soil.
If preferred, one can also drop seeds by hand. The pellet coating on these seeds helps in seeing, handling, and sowing.
A line of seeds is dropped along the row. The sprouts will be selectively thinned in a few weeks. This process eliminates the weaker sprouts and prevents overcrowding, so seedlings don’t have any competition for soil nutrients or room to mature.
Ryan also adds another thin layer of soil mix to this tray and tamps down lightly.
Once the seed trays are done he places them into our trusted commercial size Urban Cultivator growing system – it has water, temperature and humidity all set-up in the refrigerator like unit.
He covers the trays with plastic humidity domes until germination begins. Once established, the trays will be moved out into the greenhouse where they will remain until they are ready to be separated and transplanted into the ground.
Seeds are usually started about two months before the last frost. We will be planting seeds well into March. Follow along to see what other vegetables are started from seed right here in my greenhouse. I hope these blogs help remind you what you can do to get ready for the next gardening season.
If you're interested in raising chickens or just love learning about all the different and fascinating breeds, find a poultry show near you!
Earlier this month, I attended the 2024 Northeastern Poultry Congress in Springfield, Massachusetts - a poultry show held every year at the Eastern States Exposition Center. The event features more than three-thousand birds, including large fowl, waterfowl, turkeys, pigeons, Guineas, and of course, a variety of wonderful breed chickens. It’s a great way to see beautiful chickens up close and to build relationships with knowledgeable, passionate breeders. This year, I brought home six birds - three White Rock chickens and three Light Brahma chickens and some Silkie chicken eggs, which I am able to incubate here at my farm.
Enjoy these photos.
The Northeastern Poultry Congress holds its show every January. This year, was the 50th anniversary of the event. I have been making the trip for several years now – it is a very popular and well-attended gathering.
Photos of past events are hung up around the Center.
All the show birds are exhibited and judged in the Mallory Complex of the Expo Center. Visitors are able to see the various breeds up close in their crates. Each cage is tagged with the bird’s breed, color or variety, and gender.
Prior to poultry shows and again before judging, these birds are groomed and groomed again – every feather is in place.
Poultry shows are family-friendly and allow visitors to see both traditional and new breeds. The first poultry show in the United States was in 1854, before there were even standards for showing.
Here are some of the award ribbons displayed on one side of the large exhibition room.
This show enters more than a thousand chicken breeds – some with gorgeous markings and feathers. This was classified as a large fowl American cockerel.
The birds are judged against others of the same color, sex and age. They are also judged based on variety and breed. In the end, chickens compete against large fowl and water fowl.
The birds are ranked in each of their classes and then compete for super champion.
These are Light Brahmas, an old breed of feather-footed chicken from Asia. These birds are quiet, gentle, and easy to handle. They are also very hardy in cold weather.
This Bearded Black Silkie won “Best Variety.” A Silkie is a breed of chicken named for its fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like a combination of silk and satin.
Here’s a beautiful turkey being shown on “the red carpet.”
There were also some young birds grouped in X-pens, so visitors could see them more closely. The Northeastern Poultry Congress is always very informative and educational. I always learn something new when I attend.
Here are some eggs on display for competition. These are Maran chicken eggs. The Maran chicken lays the darkest brown eggs. They can be deep reddish-brown or almost black.
Back at my Bedford, New York farm, here are four of the six chickens I brought home – three White Rock and three Light Brahmas.
Light Brahmas are large, white-feathered chickens with black hackles and tail feathers. They are good egg-layers for their size, producing up to 200 large, medium-brown eggs per year.
The White Rock is considered a standard size chicken, but still quite large at six to seven pounds for each hen; roosters are a pound or two heavier. White Rocks are a variety of Plymouth Rock chicken that was first bred in New England in the late 19th century. Hens are good layers of brown eggs.
The White rocks and Light Brahmas joined a couple of Ayam Cemani chickens that are also new to the farm. The Ayam Cemani is an uncommon and relatively modern breed of chicken from Indonesia. This breed has a dominant gene that causes hyperpigmentation, making it entirely black, including feathers, beak, and internal organs.
The small group gets along very well and will eventually join the rest of the flock.
My peafowl in the adjacent enclosure are very curious and came up to the fence to say hello right away.
I am looking forward to seeing these chickens mature and thrive here at my farm. I’ve been raising chickens for many years. Not only do I love keeping them for their fresh, delicious eggs, but I also enjoy learning about the different breeds, varieties and their fun personalities.
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